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Writing Retreats

Is there a particular place you like to go to write? It
could be a room in your home or somewhere outside. Perhaps it is in the area you live. Maybe it’s a distance away, like a vacation
destination.

Are there times when you just can’t write for whatever
reason? Maybe life was busy (Mine was this month and that’s why this blog post
is so short!) and you haven’t had the time or inclination to sit down and
write.

I have a special place, it’s a vacation destination, where I
can relax and feel inspired. I can sit
by the water or in a park or in an historic inn. I can go for a walk on a trail
or through the business district or around residential neighborhoods.

I just returned from a place that I like to visit. I packed
my laptop and a tote bag. I filled the bag with some photos I cut out of
magazines, a few issues of The Writer
magazine, a book that I am reading, and three notebooks.

I have some other ideas for the next time I do this. I’m
going to include some chocolate, perhaps one of my favorite brands of root beer
or sparkling grape juice. While on vacation, I purchased a basket that I can
use as a travel desk. It’s actually a carrier for casseroles, but I think it
would hold writing materials too.

Debbie A. Byrne has a B.S. in Mass Communication with a
minor in History. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and
Illustrators (SCBWI) and is currently working on her first children’s book.

I think if I ever ended up in any of the workshops mentioned in that link I'd be too busy exploring to write a word. I'd probably have to arrange to arrive a week ... month ... or two early so I could actually pay attention to the workshop!

Good link Debbie. I'm afraid I have to be able to write anywhere and anyhow, without the luxury of a nice place (sometimes my writing is snatched in tiny bites between running around), but I'd love to do a retreat one day and do nothing to write.

l once did a retreat for a week in Northern Cyprus with U.K.Authors, all of whom scribbled away industriously in clusters of activity. Loved the people,the history and the countryside but sadly wrote very little indeed. Too busy looking around.

Debbie, this is a great idea. I always bemoan the fact that writers' conferences are mainly out of reach for those of us in S.Africa. But maybe I could find a centre and organise a retreat for half a dozen of us. That would be fun. And chocolate? Definitely.

Thanks for the comments! I recommend trying something local and low-cost to start. Incorporating your writing with a planned family vacation or vacation with your significant other might work, even if you only find time to write one day of the trip. I have to do things this way for now. It would be fun to attend a retreat or workshop in Ireland, but that is going to have to wait!